Ghost of Oswalds Past
by Tesla2251
Summary: When a ghost from Oswald's past comes back for him, he is put back into his own private torture. Can Mickey and Ortensia find him before it's too late?
1. The Devil Returns

Ghost of Oswald's Past

1. The Devil Returns

The lab on Skull Island was a mess. Since the recent destruction of the Blotworx the Mad Doctor had made, the Wastelands was safe again.

" That cursed rabbit and mouse! If they hadn't interfered, I could have succeeded in my plans!" the toon man raged. He picked up some broken robot parts and threw them across the lab, to have it shatter on the stone walls.

" If I could have broken them down, I could have won. That mouse isn't scared of anything, nor is that rabbit. He-"

The Mad Doctor paused as his eyes landed upon a small newspaper clipping from years ago. It had been written by Oswald when he had first come to the Wasteland. It talked about a man named Mintz who was abusive to the rabbit after he was stolen from Walt when he left Paramount. It talked about how the man made Oswald perform or be sent into storage and never allowed out. And even after Oswald had done his performance, he was locked in a cage and left there for the whole night without food or water. A devilish grin spread across his face.

" I know what will scare that lousy rabbit. I now know exactly what will work."

In Ostown, the whole town was dark. Save for one coming from Ortensia's bedroom window. She was laying next to her husband, Oswald the rabbit, or as he was nicknamed The Lucky Rabbit.

" I'm glad your safe, sweety," he said softly.

" Oh, Ozzy, your so sweet. But you don't need to worry about me," Ortensia giggled sweetly.

" I can worry about you if I want to," Oswald said, indignantly," I lost you once, and I won't lose you again."

Ortensia nuzzled Oswalds chest." I know, but you don't have to worry about loosing me again," she purred. Oswald reached over, and turned off the light. And the two cartoon characters fell asleep.

A crash from the down stairs snapped them awake. Down below, they could hear the sound of heavy footsteps on the floor and some things rattling and falling on the floor.

" There must be burglers," Ortentsia said, frightened.

" There are no theives in the Wasteland. But, I'll take a look if your frightened," Oswald sighed. He grabbed his flashlight and got out of bed. As he walked toward the door, the footsteps came to the door as well. Oswald puffed up his chest and opened the door.

Suddenly, there came a mechanical scream from the darkness. Bright white lights turned on, blinding Oswald. He stumbled back and felt something grab him by the waist. A huge metal tentacle grabbed him and tore him out of the room. He had enough time to give a scream of terror before he was yanked out if the room.

Ortensia leaped out of bed, following after her husband. A huge beast held Oswald in its grasp. Ortensia leaped at this thing, claws out. The beast saw her coming and slapped her away from it. She collided into the wall, breaking a picture. As she got up she saw Oswald reach out a hand toward her. Oswald reached out a hand and grabbed her hand. Ortensia pulled and pulled but the beast held on tight. It tore Oswald out of her grasp, tumbled down the stairs and out the window it had come in. Ortensia ran outside to follow, but the beast was gone. And so was her husband. Lights turned on all over the previously quiet town.

Ortensia sat in her chair, still worried. Horace Horsecollar had been by earlier to talk with her about what happened and was off doing an investigation into the matter. Her children sat around her, all to afraid to asked her what was wrong. They knew she was frightened, but they couldn't ask her the question on all their minds.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door." Come in," Ortensia called. The door squeaked open, and in stepped two characters. One was Gus Gremlin, who flew inside and hovered in front of the door to wait for the other person to come in. The 420 bunny children jumped when they saw the next person.

" Uncle Mickey!" they squealed happily. They jumped on to the famous toon, and nearly smothered him in a stampede.

" Yes, yes, it's me," chuckled Mickey as the bunny children started asking him a million questions.

" Children," said Ortensia," Would you please go play outside for a while? Uncle Mickey and I have somethings to talk about." The bunny children all nodded and bounced out the door." Don't get into trouble," she called after them.

" You might as well forget saying it, they get in trouble al the time," Gus muttered. Ortensia shot him a dark look and turned to help Mickey off the ground.

" Thanks," said the mouse. Ortensia smiled, then her smile failed. Mickey knew why.

" Gus told me whats happened," he said, sympathetically.

" It's quite baffling of why anyone would kidnap Oswald. Though there are some shifty characters around here," Gus said, but he said the last sentence to himself.

" No, no one really had any problems with Oswald recently," Ortensia said.

" We have to go look for him. But where should we start searching?" Mickey wondered, scratching his head

" Well, the first place to look is where a villian would hide their hostage. But who would have an idea about that?" Gus said, scratching his head and floating around as he wondered.

" I know just where to start," Ortensia said, and she was out the door before anyone could say another word. Mickey and Gus followed after her quickly.

" An, you came to me, why?" Pete muttered, the three toons.

" Cause your a villian and you'd know where you'd go with your hostage?" Ortensia growled.

" Oh, so because I'm a villian, you come right to me when there are other villians out there," Pete growled, chewing the end of his new cigar.

" If you had kidnapped some one, where would you take them?" Mickey demanded. Pete rolled his eyes, took a drag from his cigar, and blew a smoke ring around the three characters.

" Now if I was going to kidnap the king of Wasteland, I'd take him somehwere nice and secretive, if ya gets my drift," Pete added loftily.

" English, please," Gus exclaimed. He was getting ticked off with all these riddles.

" Okay, okay. No flare for the dramatic, huh? I'd say it'd have to be somewhere no one goes. Skull Island, might be a good starting place. Yous could ask Pete Pan is he's seen anything. Now get lost, I got official business to attend to," Pete bellowed before storming off, leaving the three behind.

" Well, I guess we are off to Tortooga and to Skull Island beyond that," Mickey said, shrugging.

" I'll see if Marcus has the projector screens running," Gus said, before teleporting away.

" Well, I better get to the Venterland projector screen," Mickey said to himself.

" And so should I," Ortensia said, following Mickey.

" What? Why?" Mickey asked, turning to the black and white cat.

" I want to go with you."

" Ortensia, it might be dangerous. Oswald would kill me if anything happened to you."

" I know, but I want to help you look for him. He is my husband." The look in her eyes showed no weakening of her resolve, so Mickey sighed.

" Okay, Ortensia, you can come along," he sighed.

" Thank you, Mickey," Ortensia said, smiling." Just give me a couple moments, and I will be back. I have to get a few things from home." Before Mickey could ask anything else, she jumped into the Ostown projector screen.

Oswald felt sore as he regained his senses. He opened one eye and took a look around the room he was in. He gingerly pushed himself up, his upper arm hurting as he pushed himself up.

" It's about time you got up! Any longer and I would have had to kick you awake," growled a voice. Oswald looked around quickly. Out of the shadows stepped a large man. He was at least twice as tall as Oswald, taller than Goofy to be sure. The man wore an old business suit, and had very shiny leather shoes. But his face made Oswald turn white with fear.

" C-c-c-c-c-c-c-Cha-Char-Charels M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-Mi-Min-tz!" he stuttered in fear.

" Oh course it's me! Who were you expecting? Walt Disney?" the figure growled, cackling at his own joke.

" Why are you here? You should be dead!" Oswald raged.

" Do I look dead to you?" the tall figure screamed. Oswald curled into a ball from fright.

" What am I doing here?" the small rabbit asked.

" Your here to continue the show. Remember, Oswald, I still own you. So you are going to do, what I say," said the man, calmly. Oswald backed away from the imposing figure, and noticed he had a couple bandages wrapped around his arms.

" About that, the Beetleworx that brought you here was a little rough. But don't worry, I had it scrapped because I can't have my number one star being too injured to perform," Mintz smirked.

" I don't want to perform for you! I want to go home! Back with Dad! Back with Walt!" Oswald screamed.

Mintz just chuckled. His chuckle seemed to chill the air in the room." With Dad? With him? You make me laugh, Oswald. Have you forgotten something? Its that..." Mintz paused, reached down, grabbed Oswald by the ear and brought him up to his face. Then he screamed so loud, Oswald thought the room would cave in.

"...I OWN YOU!"

Mintz dropped the small black and white rabbit to the floor. Oswald rubbed his ears.

" Or maybe, you don't want to act or perform anymore," Mintz pondered. Oswald looked up at the man and nodded. Mintz turned and started to leave.

" Oh well, I guess I can always find another performer. Maybe...,"he said, pausing and looking back at the rabbit.

" ...Ortensia would like to perform," he said, in a sinister tone. Oswald launched himself across the room and held onto Mintz's trousers.

" NO! Leave my wife alone! I'll do it! I'll perform! Just leave her alone!" Oswald begged. It felt below him, but to keep Ortensia safe, he'd do anything.

" Are you sure?" said the man, looking down on the begging rabbit, who nodded enthusiasticly.

"Good," said Mintz, grabbing Oswalds ears again and dragging him across the ground toward an open door.

" Come along, Oswald. We have films to make. Your the star, don't forget."


	2. Torture From The Past

Ghosts of Oswald's Past

2. Torture From The Past

Mickey popped out of the projector screen at Venture Land, followed shortly by Ortensia. With her, she carried a purse bulging from all the stuff she had packed.

" We are only going to Venture Land," Mickey had told her before they left," We could be there and back before dinner time."

" You never know what could happen. We could be lost, or something could happen. It's better to be safe than sorry," she had said, smiling her sweetest smile.

Mickey had turned away hide his blush. She reminded him so much about Minnie. He began to regret calling off their date for Saturday night because he always had a difficult time convincing her to go out again on a make-up date. But Oswald was the only real family he had left. He wasn't going to wait for news about his older brother and where he had been. He was going to find him regardless.

" Now, where should we go first?" Ortensia asked, breaking Mickey's thoughts off.

" Skull Island is where we should go first. But I am having a problem remembering where to go. It's been a while since I was here last," Mickey said, walking toward the lamplit center of town.

Ortensia sat her heavy purse on the stone bench, and said," Well, lets ask someone. Maybe they will know the way to Skull Island."

" Hello, Mickey," said a voice. Mickey and Ortensia looked up to see Animatronic Daisy sitting close to where they were.

" Oh, hello Daisy. Would you happen to know how I could get back to Skull Island?" Mickey asked.

" Why yes. It's just that way, through the jungle, and your should find a dock with a tug boat. Animatronic Donald should be there. He'll help you get out to the island," said the robot, pointing in the direction for them to go.

" Thank you, Daisy," said Mickey.

" Oh, and Mickey. Tell Donald I said hello," Daisy quickly added.

" Okay," chuckled Mickey. Ortensia grabbed her purse and the two characters set off through the jungle.

Oswald glanced down at the small pool of water at the bottom of the fifty foot diving platform. It wasn't the height that made him nervous, the thought of missing his mark made him nervous.

" ACTION!", shouted Mintz. Oswald froze for only a second before diving off the platform and into the pool at the bottom. As he surfaced, he saw that Mintz was waiting for him to surface.

" I just reviewed the footage, Oswald," he said, flatly.

" Yes? Did I hit the mark, like you asked?" Oswald asked, hopefully.

" Tell me, Oswald. Do I look happy? Do I look like I am about to say,' Oh yes, you hit the mark, Oswald. Good job.'?" Mintz asked. Oswald couldn't say a thing cause he could tell what was coming. When Mintz yanked him out of the water by his ears, he knew he was in trouble.

" You missed tour mark again, Oswald. I thought you would have learned by now what happens when you miss your mark."

Mintz tossed Oswald into the clutches of a Beetleworx, which held his arms tightly, with Oswalds back to Mintz. Mintz picked up a long whip. It looked like the kind a person driving a horse buggy would use to stimulate the horses into a gallop.

" No. Please. Don't. I'm sorry! I won't miss my mark next time, please!" Oswald begged as Mintz brought the whip up.

Then, he brought it down on his back. Oswald screamed so loud, it echoed around the room. The whip falls continued to come down. Oswal trembled. Lightning bolts of pain stabbed through his chest. Then the lashing stopped. His knees failed and he just hung limply in the grasp of the mechanical stockade. His wounds bled, he could feel warm blood running down his back. He thought he could feel the old wounds, the ones Mintz had inflicted before he had come to the Wasteland, burning. Another beetleworx came and began applying bandages to Oswalds torn back.

" We won't miss that mark next time, will we?" Mintz smirked, putting away the whip.

" Yes...sir," Oswald groaned out, he was close to tears but he couldn't let Mintz see them. He'd be slapped and told to grow up. As long as he wasn't be hit, he'd do anything.

"Good, now take it from the top again," Mintz shouted to the crew.

" I can't believe I have to give you two a pleasure cruise to Skull Island, just to talk to Pete Pan. What is this? Is it to much trouble to just call on the telephone?" Animantronic Donald grumbled as he piloted his tug boat close to Skull Island.

" There is no telephone line out here, bolt brain!" Ortensia snapped at the robot.

" He's just grouchy like always," Mickey said.

" I wish Gus could have come," he said, absently.

" You heard him. He had to stay back at the village to help with the other projector screens," Ortensia said, as the pier drifted into view.

The tugboat drifted next to the pier, and docked. As Donald tied it off, Mickey and Ortensia leaped off on to the sandy shore. The rock that was Skull Island looked menacingly out at the sea. Mickey climbed up the rock face to get a better perspective of his surroundings. Ortensia went inside. The lab was still a mess, but there was nothing of what Mickey had told her was there the last time he had been there.

When Mickey got to the top of Skull Island, he could see Pete Pan flying around one of the the islands. When he saw Mickey, he flew over.

" Hello Mickey, long time no see," Pete Pan said.

" Hello, Pete," Mickey said," Have you seen anything around here recently?"

" Yes, I did, lets get down on the ground, I'll show you what I mean."

" I see what you mean," Mickey said, as he surveyed the mostly empty cave.

" I heard the Mad Doc was here a couple nights ago. Said he was moving out and he was going to 'get that rabbit'," Pete said, smugly.

" No question about who," Ortensia said to herself.

" I did hear him bragging about where he was going to set up. Or at least I think it was," Pete added.

" Do you know where he went, Pete?" Ortensia asked quickly. Mickey could tell her fear about what had happened to Oswald was getting worse. But she was keeping her nerves under control.

" No, I don't know where they went exactly. But I did hear the Doc mention Mickeyjunk Mountain more than a few times. Maybe he went there?"

" We might as well check it out," said Mickey. Ortensia sighed. Another trip, another long trip to make. But she knew it was better than nothing.

" Thank you, Pete Pan. We will go take a look there," she said.

As they went back on Donald's tug boat, Mickey could tell Ortensia was really upset. She hadn't spoken much to him, and she always seemed focused on the horizon.

" Ortensia, are you okay?" he finally asked.

She snapped around and nearly shouted," What do you think? My husband is gone and I'm worried about him! Don't you worry about anyone?" She covered her mouth quickly, and turned away.

" I'm sorry," she said quietly," I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's not going to help me to be upset at anyone."

Mickey reached up, and patted her on the back. She was trembling.

" It's okay. Oswald is still alive. That I know. And you right, being mad isn't going to help. Be mad at the person who kidnapped your husband," he said. Ortensia turned, and wrapped her arms around Mickey. Mickey held her as she cried.

" Your right," she sobbed," I miss him so much."

" I know," Mickey sighed." I do too."

With a mighty heave, Mintz threw Oswald into his cell. The battered rabbit bounced along the floor and collided with the wall. He shook his head and looked back at the tall figure.

" Get some sleep. We have more filming to do tomorrow," Mitz grumbled.

" Sir...I've worked all day. Can I have some food and water?" Oswald asked weakly.

" No! You need to get your rest! You can't act if your tired! If you can't act, you'll miss your mark! And you know what happens when you miss your mark, right?" the man growled. Oswald knew alright, he responded his understanding with a feeble nod.

" Good."

And with a slam of the door and the click of the lock, Oswald was left in darkness, save for the feeble moonlight that came from his single window. It was much too small for him to fit through. He sat in the small puddle of moonlight and stared out at the moon. It looked like the half eye of a corpse.

" I might welcome that now," Oswald said to himself as this relation came into his head. The cuts where he had been whipped stung a little less, but the pain was still very deep. Tears rolled down his face and plopped on the dusty floor of his cell.

" Daddy," he said to the silence," help me, please. Daddy, please come for me. I need you, Daddy. Save me from this hell that has come back for me. Save me..."

He could continue no more. Oswald bent over and curled into a ball. His misery and pain just washed over him and buried him in a sea of wails and sobs. He stared at the moon through his tears and thought for a second he could see his father's face. But Oswald knew this was his mind playing tricks on him. Right now, all he wanted to do was cry himself to sleep like he had done in the past. It seemed so distant now.

After being torn away from Walt and tortured by Mintz, Oswald had always found a way to escape his pain by going to sleep. He had always hurt too much to fall asleep like anyone naturally would. He had fallen asleep to the sound of his own cries of misery. Now, here in a cold dark cell, somewhere in the Wasteland, he found he could do it with ease.

" Good night...daddy," he sighed to the shadows before falling asleep.

" NOW THIS IS HILARIOUS! This is funnier than the time I tore that robotic numskull Goofy to pieces!"cackled the Mad Doctor, until he was breathless. His monitors showed Oswald, writhing in his own misery. Mintz chuckled.

" I can't believe he still misses his daddy. It's so sad, I'd cry if it wasn't so funny," chuckled Mintz, smiling at the image on the screen.

" The whipping was good, but you nearly killed him. Be gentler. I want him to suffer a lot longer," said the Doc, still gasping for breath.

" I will do that. Tomorrow will be fun," Mintz smirked.

It was decided by Ortensia that she and Mickey would go to Mickeyjunk Mountain first thing in the morning.

" I don't want to intrude," said Mickey as Ortensia handed him a sleeping bag.

" Please. I don't want to sleep alone. If...what ever it was comes back," Ortensia said. Mickey sighed, and agreed to sleep over for her sake. After having her break down on the trip back to land, Mickey wanted to do whatever he could to keep her calm.

" Thank you, Mickey," Ortensia said, smiling.

" Your welcome," Mickey said, smiling.

" Yay! Unca Mickey is sleeping over!" the Bunny Children squealed in joy.

Ortensia giggled," Well, I'll let you keep an eye on the kids and I will get dinner ready." And she sauntered off to the kitchen, leaving Mickey buried up to his ears in little blue bunnies.


	3. Freedom From Bondage

Ghosts of Oswald's Past

3. Freedom of bondage

The sun rose on a very cloudy day. Dark clouds rolled up above Ostown. Mickey stared up at the clouds as he waited for Ortensia to finish dropping off the Bunny Children at Clairibelle's house. He sighed as he thought about the day before.

" She is so much like Minnie. She worries about others. She's worried about Oswald, I wonder is Minnie is worried about me," he said to himself. Suddenly, Ortensia came up quickly.

" Sorry it took so long, the kids wanted to come with us but I convinced them to stay until we came back home," she said, catching her breath.

" It's okay. I had plenty of time to think about things at home while I was waiting," Mickey said, smiling a little.

Ortensia giggled," Well, lets go. At least the projector screen is operating here."

Gus appeared in front of them." Hello you two. I'm glad to see that you had a good nights rest," he said.

" We did," Mickey said.

" Well, the projectors are working again so we can easily get to Mickeyjunk Mountain. It took some work due to thinner damage," Gus explained.

" Come on, lets go. If Oswald is there, we have to hurry," Ortensia sighed before jumping into the projector screen.

" I take it she didn't sleep well?" Gus said, looking over at Mickey.

" She did. She's just really torn up over her husband being kidnapped," Mickey said to the gremlin, then he jumped into the projector screen

" So I see," Gus muttered before following the two into the screen.

On the other side of the projector screen, the storm had already broken and rain was poaring down. Ortensia had already take an umbrella out of her purse.

" Need one?" she asked Mickey and Gus.

" No thanks, I got a poncho," said Gus putting on a yellow poncho.

" I don't need one. I need a full range of mobility. Now lets go," Mickey said, as he headed off toward the base of the mountain.

The Mad Doctor watched the monitors all trained on the show room floor. He cackled as he couldn't wait to make Mintz dish out some strict punishment on Oswald. However, he was too preoccupied with his next evil move, he neglected to looks at the monitors at the base of the mountain. If he had, he could have had time to deploy the beetleworx, or use the lazer cannon, or deploy the trap doors. But he was too busy cackling at his evil scheme, like all cartoon villians are apt to do.

At the top of the stairs, the three were exhausted.

" You'd think they would put an elevator in this mountain," Ortensia panted.

" Or build everything on the ground floor," Mickey sighed.

" I think we should go out there," Gus said, pointing to a door.

The three toons walked over to the door. The second Gus opened the door, they were hit by a gale. It sent the flying back and the door stayed open because of the wind, which slowly died down to a mild gust.

" We arn't going out there, are we?" Ortensia asked.

" We havn't looked inside yet," Gus said, agreeing.

" No, we have to look out there first. I have a strong hunch that is where Oswald is," Mickey said defiantly. Ortensia and Gus groaned, but followed after Mickey all the same.

Oswald swung his sword at the Beetleworx, and sent it flying. It hit the wall and went limp. The sword was snapped in half. ' Cheap plastic' he thought exhaustedly. He was about to go have a seat when he was halted by the shout of the director.

" Oswald, stay where you are," said the mesured tone of Mintz. Oswald froze in a heartbeat.

After getting out the door, the three toons moved quickly behind the rows of camera equipment and crates of cables. They ducked down behind a row and peeked out over the crates.

" Look! There is Oswald," Gus said quietly. The tall figure in the suit stormed over to the rabbit who was petrified to his place.

" Oswald, what did I say about missing your mark yesterday?" Mintz growled.

" Not to miss it again, sir," Oswald whimpered, trembling.

" Yes, and you know what happened?" Mintz growled, picking Oswald up by his ear," You missed you mark by two seconds."

" I'm sorry, sir. I won't miss my mark again," Oswald whimpered.

" Maybe I wasn't clear the first time, Oswald. I think you need to be taught another lesson," Mintz growled.

" What can we do?" Ortensia whimpered," We can't let him beat him again."

" What we need is a plan," Gus said.

Suddenly, Mickey jumped over the crates and ran at the tall figure.

" Mickey, wait!" shouted Gus, but Mickey didn't hear him over the sound of the rain and wind.

" I warned you about missing your mark, Oswald! You know what comes ne-" Mintz growled, but he was knocked off his feet as Mickey plowed into his legs. Mintz dropped Oswald and the rabbit fell onto the ground, landing on his stomach.

Oswald picked his head up off the ground and looked back as a small shadow fell over him. The owner of the shadow had bright yellow shoes, red shorts with white buttons, and large round ears on top of his head. For a moment, Oswald didn't know who was looking down on him.

" Mickey?" he asked feebly, trembling from the cold and from fear.

" It's okay, brother. I'm here now," Mickey said, kneeling next to the fallen king. A sudden groan and a large shadow falling upon him made Mickey turn and stand. There stood Charles Mintz, his face twisted with rage. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled all around them. Mickey stood his ground, and he stared at the tall figure in the rain soaked suit, his red tie flapping in the wind.

" Get out my way, Mouse," Mintz growled.

" Mickey, please leave. He'll hurt you, little brother. Please," Oswald begged weakly, his voice trembling with fear. Mickey didn't move.

" Then I'll move you myself," growled the man.

Mintz came forward, reaching out for Mickey. Suddenly, Gus popped up behind him and with a mighty swing, clobbered Mintz in the right side of the head with his wrench. The tall figure collapsed to the ground. Mintz was down, but not out. He started to get up.

" Get out of here, Oswlad. I'll take care of him," Mickey said to the trembling rabbit.

" No! You can't beat him! He'll tear you apart!" Oswald whimpered. Rain mixed with his tears, and the bandages on his ears started coming off.

" I'm not going to let him hurt my brother," Mickey said, dragging the rabbit to his feet.

" But your my little brother. He'll hurt you worse than he did me," Oswald groaned, struggling to stand.

Gus appeared alongside and wordlessly helped the rabbit along. Meanwhile, Mintz had gotten up. Mickey took a look at the tall imposing figure and gasped. Oswald and Gus looked up and were just as shocked.

The right eye had shattered, revealing an robotic eye behind it, that glowed an angry red. Mintz growled low at them.

" He's a animatronic," Gus said quietly. Mickey just stood to face the tall figure.

" Come on, Oswald. The show must go on," Mintz growled, but it no longer sounded like the man who had tortured Oswald. It sounded like an electric hair clipper that had learned to talk.

" He's not going anywhere, you don't own him anymore," Mickey said defiantly.

The robot growled, and in a couple step he reached down and grabbed Mickey off the ground by his neck. Mintz held the mouse, at arms length, up a good three feet off the ground.

" I told you to stay out of my way," Mintz buzzed.

Mickey's face started to turn blue as the robot tightened it's grip. He struggled to get free from the tightening grip, but his strength was quickly running out. He gave a kick which hit the robot in the face, tearing some of its rubber skin off. The flap of torn rubber flapped down to reveal part of a metal skull beneath.

Suddenly, the robot fell to the ground as something hit its right leg, releasing it's grip on Mickey's neck. Mickey fell to the ground the same time as the robot. Gus flew in and helped the mouse to his feet.

" Get off me," Mintz buzzed. Oswald stood on the robots chest, glaring at it. It was hard to tell if he was crying or not cause the rain made that impossible. In his clutched hand, he held tightly on the Gus' wrench.

" I'm going to do something I should have done some time ago," the rabbit growled out. He swung the wrench, meaning to bury it in the robots face, but Mintz put up a hand and blocked it. The wrench instead buried itself in the left shoulder of the robot. An audible metallic crunch could be heard. Oswald let go of the wrench and gave some hard punches to the the robot's chest, a very perceptible dent forming. Oswalds rage and misery had mixed into a volitile cocktail that fueled his attack. Suddenly, the robots right hand slapped Oswald away, making him fly across the floor. Ortensia immediately ran to Oswalds side.

" Oswald! Sweet heart, are you okay?" she asked. Oswald gave a nod, suddenly he noticed the robot was charging toward them.

" MOVE!" Oswald shouted as he pushed Ortensia out of the way. He barely got out of the way himself as the robot charged past them. The robot didn't stop however, it charged right through the wall, leaving a nice Mintz-shaped hole. Mickey and Gus joined their side, staring at the hole in the wall. Suddenly the wall next to the hole exploded out. Mintz now looked totally different.

The force of running into the wall had torn almost all of the rubber flesh from the Mintz robot. The only flesh remaining was on the left hand and on the right foot, still in a polished leather shoe. The robot growled and charged at the four toons. If it had made it to the four, it might have knocked them all over the side of the mountain, and been splattered on the ground below. But the rain on the wet floor made for poor traction.

The Mintz robot slipped on its metal left foot, and fell to the ground. It slid along the ground, toward the four toons. Oswald and Ortensia leaped one way, Mickey leaped the other, Gus flew up, out of the way. As the robot came to a stop, it tried to get up.

" Who said you could get up?" Oswald shouted as he charged forward and gave the robot a hard kick, sending it skidding along the floor to the edge. The robot slid over the edge and held on with it's right hand. It was trying to pull itself back up. Mickey stood above it, his foot on the robots left hand. Oswald joined his side, and looked down at the robot that had been his "owner" his torturer.

" Kick him off, Oswald!" shouted Ortensia.

Mickey moved his foot over and Oswald placed his foot on the robots hand, next to Mickeys. The two looked at each other and they kicked kicked the robot off the edge. Oswald watched as it faded from view in the mist. A very satisfying crash issued from below. Oswald then turned, then walked off toward the lab.

" Someone built that robot, and I have a good idea who," he muttered angrily.

The Mad Doctor ran down the stairs as quickly as he could. His plan had failed again. he had to escape the inevitable wrath of Oswald the rabbit.

" It was good while it lasted," he said to himself. He was soon at the bottom of the stairs, at the bottom of the mountain. As he was about to get out the other side of the door of the room he was in, gremlins appeared from all over the Wasteland.

" GET OUT OF MY WAY!" the Mad Doctor shouted at the Gremilns. They just stood there and floated in front of him.

" You know, we havn't forgotten who put us in those glass cages," Apollo said.

" I say we put him in a glass jar and see how he likes it," Marcus said. All the other gremlins agreed.

" I'm going to tear him apart!" Oswald raged as he stormed down the stairs. Mickey, Gus and Ortensia were far behind him.

" Your hurt, Oswald! Calm down before you do worse damage to yourself!" Ortensia shouted after him.

" She's right! Stop before you hurt yourself!" Gus shouted.

Oswald was so angry, all his pain momentarily forgotten. His feet pounded down the steps, making them groan as the bolts holding them to the wall strained. At the bottom of the steps, Oswald stopped dead in his tracks. The other three ran into him, all four landing in a heap.

" Why don't you signal when you stop?" Gus muttered from the bottem of the pile.

There, the Mad Doctor was in one of the gremlin cages. He banged on the glass and cursed but the gremlins just giggled as he could barly be heard. Gus and Mickey started laughing as wel;.

" Hey look Gus, its a glass lamp with a dim bulb in it," chuckled Mickey.

" It's a pity it can't be replaced, it would look so good attached to the ceiling," Gus said, laughing a little as he talked.

Oswald picked himself off the floor and glared at the Mad Doctor. He took a couple steps toward it before pushing it over on to its side.

" Now you going to feel my pain and suffering," Oswald said flatly before spinning the cage around and around.

" Stop it! I'm going to be sick!" the Doctor screamed from inside. Oswald gave a smirk. Suddenly he froze up, his eyes bugged out, his mouth gapped open in what appeared to be a silent scream.

" Oswald? Honey?" Ortensia asked her petrified husband. Oswald suddenly went limp and fell lifelessly to the floor.

" OSWALD!" Ortensia screamed as she kneeled by the fallen rabbit. Gus flew in and felt his wrist.

" It's okay, he's alive. The pain must have made him pass out, surprising how he could last so long like this," Gus said gravely. MIckey kneeled down and cradled his brothers head in his lap.

" Is there a way we can get him home, gently?" he asked the gremlin.

" We'll need a streatcher. Marcus, Apollo, and I will find the materials," Gus said, before flying off. Mickey and Ortensia looked at the fallen king. Ortensia held his hand while Mickey held his head.

" If only we had been sooner," Ortensia weeped.

" He's tough. Older brother usually are," Mickey said. But deep down he was thinking the same thing.


	4. Home At Last

Ghost Of Oswalds Past 4. Home At Last

Oswald felt himself tumbling down, down, down. He could feel the walls of the tunnel when her reached out moving past his fingertips. His fall slowly came to a crawl as he reached the end of the tunnel. It came out into a bright white light. He covered his eyes as the light became too bright for him to see.  
When Oswald opened his eyes, he felt some cold paper underneith him. As he sat up, he looked around the world around him. It was a small room, with some papers tacked to the walls. He tried to look at them but the lines never stayed still. As he became aware of his surroundings, he felt like he was on an incline. Oswald stood up, to see he had been laying on a drawing table. There was something vaugly familiar about this table.  
Oswald took a step back to get a better look at the table and the ground left his feet. He fell backwards. Oswald feared he was about to fall to the floor, but he instead landed on a chair. It felt soft and warm. Oswald picked himself up and took another look at the table. It looked more familiar than before. But he couldn't place it. Suddenly, he heard voices. He turned toward the door of the small room, and he could see the shadows of people behind the door on the glass window. There were words on the glass of the door as well. But they were backwards. Oswald hopped off the chair and bounded over to the door so he could read the words shadows that were cast on the floor. He read them carefully and slowly.  
WALT DISNEY -ANIMATOR-  
Oswald felt his heart flutter. He recognised this room. It was the drawing room where he had been created. The door opened behind him and Oswald turned to see Walt standing in the door, looking at him, smiling.  
" Dad?" he asked, his words echoing slowly in the empty room.  
" Yes, Oswald. Welcome home, son," said Walt, smiling down at the rabbit. He stooped down and held his arms open to Oswald. Oswald ran into his arms and was embraced in a strong hug. Owsald looked over his fathers shoulder to see he was holding a piece of paper in his right hand. It read," Copyright of: Oswald The Lucky Rabbit. There mentioned character is now owned by The Walt Disney Company." Oswald smiled and hugged tighter. He was finally back home.  
" Oswald?" said a voice. It was Ortensia's. Only it was a long way off. The room, and his father became fuzzy as he looked for the sound of the voice. Suddenly his eyes opened very slowly.  
" Oswald, your awake!" Ortensia excalimed excitedly. Oswald looked around. He was back in his bed in Ostown. Had it all been a dream?  
" Ortensia?" he asked weakly, looking at the black cat.  
" Yes, Oswald. Your finally back,"Ortensia said brightly, embracing her husband in a gentle hug. Oswald brought up his arms that felt like they were lead weights, and embraced her in a strong hug back.  
" Where is Mickey, where is Gus?" he asked quickly when their embrace finally parted.  
" They are waiting outside. Should I bring them in?" Ortensia smiled.  
" Yes, please," Oswald sighed, his back hurting.  
Ortensia gave a nod and she went to the door. Gus and Mickey came in a couple moments later.  
" I'm glad to see that you alive. I told the gremlins you were tough," Gus said, grandly. Mickey just smiled. Oswald gave a weak smile back.

Ortensia came in twenty minutes later." Okay boys, Oswald needs his rest now," she said, ushering the two from the room.  
" Wait, can Mickey stay for a minute or two?" Oswald asked quickly.  
Ortensia looked at the two brothers for a moment before saying," Okay, but only for two minutes."  
Mickey smiled and went back to the chair by the bed. The door closed behind the two toons, and the brothers were left alone in peace.  
" You wanted me to stay a moment?" he asked.  
" Mickey, you saved my life. I probably wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you," Oswald said.  
" It's nothing, Ozzie. Your my brother, I couldn't let that evil creation hurt you," Mickey said.  
" You know Mickey, I am called the Lucky Rabbit."  
" Yes."  
Oswald took a look at Mickey." But you're luckier than I am. You never had to deal with Mintz. I...I wish I could have stayed. With Walt," he sighed, a tear rolling down his face.  
" I know. Walt never stopped thinking about you, Oswald."  
" He didn't?"  
" No. I remember he used to take trips to Universal to try and get you back. But, he was always denied everytime he went. He never stopped trying to get you back"  
" Mickey, thank you for telling me that. It helps to know Dad never forgot about me. Thank you," Oswald said, a smile in his voice. A small tear of joy rolled down his cheek.  
" Come on, Mickey. He needs his rest," Ortensia called softly.  
" Okay. And Oswald, I have a surprise for you," said Mickey.  
" What is it?" yawned Oswald.  
" You'll see," Mickey said mysteriously before Oswald fell asleep again.

A couple weeks later, Oswald was almost all healed up. His ear was almost healed and he was now walking around. He sat on the step outside his house, looking at the sun. Suddenly, a dull thump came, accompanied by what felt like a gentle punch in the chest. Then it happened again. And again. And again.  
Oswlad put his hands to his chest, and it was unmistakable. His heart was beating again. A goofy smile spread across his face. Suddnely, the door opened behind him and Ortensia came out.  
" Oswald! My heart, it's beating again!" she said excitedly.  
" I know, my heart is beating too," he said, hugging her close.  
The rest of the day went by the same way, most of the characters in the Wasteland started to receive their hearts, even the Bunny Children, who asked OSwald and Ortensia what that thumping in their chest was. The next day, Mickey came by. Oswald was laying in the hammock out front when the sun got cut off. He opened his eyes to see who was blocking his sun " So, do you have your hearts back?" Mickey asked.  
" Yes. How did you get our hearts back?" Oswald asked quickly.  
Mickey explained that Disney had got Oswald's character design back 4 years ago and had been stuck on how to re-introduce the character to the public. When Mickey had told them about his first trip to the Wasteland, they suddenly had an angle to reintroduce all the characters that had been forgotten.  
" Why did they call it Epic Mickey?" Oswald asked.  
" I had no part in the naming. They said since I was the one who had told them the story, that I should be named after it. But, it gets better," Mickey said.  
" What is it?" Oswald asked.  
" There is going to be a new video game, and you are a main character," Mickey said. Oswald suddenly hugged Mickey tightly.  
" Thank you brother, thank you," Oswald said. he couldn't beleive it. It was almost too good to be true.  
After nearly 80 years of being a forgotten soul in a world no one knew about, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was finally home. And the heart beat goes on. 


End file.
